In the same way as The Da Vinci Code, Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s complex thriller The Shadow of the Wind has proved a runaway, word-of-mouth success across Europe. In Zafón’s native Barcelona, you are the odd one out if you haven’t read it.

The story is about a boy who sets out to discover the truth behind the strange past of an obscure writer. But its success is due partly to the way it evokes the Gothic gloom of post-civil-war Barcelona.

I followed the labyrinthine journey of the hero, Daniel Sempere, through the city’s Gothic quarter.

As yet there are no Shadow of the Wind guided tours, but María Luisa Albacar, of the Barcelona tourist office, believes that in six months’ time, once it has caught on in Britain, tourists will want to discover the city afresh through the pages of this remarkable book.

The story begins on La Rambla, Barcelona’s principal thoroughfare, as Daniel heads to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. Zafón describes La Rambla as “like a watercolour slowly coming to life”. Today bird sellers compete with mime artists for the tourist euro and it is hard not to be beguiled by the colour.

Off La Rambla is Plaça Reial, where Daniel meets his first love, Clara Barcelo. Zafón picked this square because he likes the two surrealist lampposts by Antonio Gaudí. It is a lovely place to have a coffee under the palm trees and watch the world go by. One hidden treasure is the Barcelona Pipa Club, a bar dedicated, bizarrely, to Sherlock Holmes.

But better still is Plaça Sant Felip Neri, where Daniel tracks down the mysterious Nuria Monfort. The tiny, dark streets leading there evoke the novel’s grim atmosphere.

Zafón perfectly describes the square as “a small breathing space in the maze of streets”. As the suns streams in, a few dazed tourists gaze at the pock marks left on the walls by civil war bombs. The church was said to be Gaudí’s favourite and he was believed to be on his way there when he was run over and killed.

In one corner is the four-star Hotel Neri, a restored 17th-century palace which is a delightful mix of minimalism and luxury. It would be a perfect place to stay. The nearby Museu del Calçat, dedicated to the history of shoes, is also worth a stop.

A few streets away is the restaurant Els Quatre Gats, made famous by Picasso, Lorca and Dalí and where Daniel meets the bookseller Gustavo Barcelo.

It is as much a tourist trap as a working restaurant, but the food is good value and the turn-of-the-century decor has not changed since the era in which the book is set.

Nearby is Calle Montcada, famous for the Picasso museum and dotted with small courtyards which litter the novel. From here, it was a short stroll to Barceloneta and the sea, where the book ends. It was charming to sit on the jetty in the sun looking at the bay, as Daniel did.

But, in search of the Aldaya mansion, where much of the plot centres, I headed up to Tibidabo, the exclusive area which overlooks Barcelona. On the way, I passed the Calle Arco del Teatro, off La Rambla. This dingy street has the threatening atmosphere of the novel and is worth a look-in.

I take the 103-year-old blue tram and stop at 32 Avenida del Tibidabo. I expected the dark, “cursed” mansion, but it is a smart office. I console myself across the road in the excellent El Asador de Aranda restaurant.

From here it is a short walk or another tram ride to the top of Tibidabo, to have a relaxing drink in one of two bars and gaze out over Barcelona to the sea. A perfect end.

The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (Phoenix, £9.99).

Need to know

Staying: Hotel Neri, St Sever 5 (00 34 93 304 0655, www.hotelneri.com).

Eating and drinking: Els Quatre Gats, Carrer Montsió 3bis (93 302 4140, www.4gats.com). Barcelona Pipa Club, Plaça Reial 3 (93 302 4732, www.bpipaclub.com). El Asador de Aranda, Avenida Tibidabo 31 (93 417 0115, www.asadoraranda.com).

Further information: Spanish Tourist Office (020-7486 8077, www.tourspain.co.uk).

New tours around sites mentioned in The Shadow of the Wind have begun in Barcelona. The three-hour tours, in English, visit the favourite haunts of the central character Daniel Sempere and his literary hero Julian Carax.

The route starts in the road where Sempere lives, then passes through Las Ramblas to the dingy side street where Zafón places the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. Then it is on to the delightful Placa Sant Felip Neri, the café Els Quatre Gats, which was popular with Picasso, before moving to the Santa Maria del Mar church, and finishing at the Aldaya Palace on Tibidabo Avenue.

Blanca Espa, of Icono Serveis, which runs the tours, says that other locations in the novel can be included. Prices depend on the size of groups: 4-10 people costs £20 per person; or 2 people, £25 each.

Details: 00 34 934 101405, www.iconoserveis.com.

Guidebook choice: Barcelona (Time Out, £12.99); Barcelona (Lonely Planet, £11.99).

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